AP: Ugandan women go to court over maternal mortality

The AP recently reported that activists from more than 50 civil service organizations are lobbying the Ugandan Supreme Court to declare maternal mortality a violation of women’s rights. These organizations are receiving strong support from Ugandan women in a country where “more than 100 women die during childbirth each week.” The movement seeks to bring national attention to the inadequacy of health centers across Uganda and the lack of concerned health professionals working in maternal health. They want acknowledgment from the highest court that death from childbirth is a violation of economic, social, and cultural rights.

A lower court had rejected the case, calling it a matter “for the country’s political leaders to handle.” Now brought before the Supreme Court, a declaration in support for the activists could potentially provide enough pressure for the government to take action to address maternal mortality. Previous efforts to bring attention to this issue have fallen flat, but experts believe that the backing of so many organizations can now bring change.

Read the full AP article here.

Photo: By (Photograph by Toshihiro Horii, Department of Molecular Protozoology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, University of Osaka, Osaka, Japan.) [CC-BY-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons